C O M P A N Y O V E R V I E W
NEPEAN Mining:
Trusted Name in High Va
The Australian company is continuing to deliver inno products to the mining industry while integrating a u ensuring customers are taken care of. Written by: Robert Spence Produced by: James Hayes
alue
ovative and sustainable unique approach to
NEPEAN MINING
Atlas Iron Ore - NEPEAN supplied stock yard Conveyor, Port Hedland
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or the mining industry to overcome its current state of turmoil it’s going to require many things. It’s going to entail improvements in practices and operational efficiency, it’s going to require commodity prices to rise and it’s going to take more companies like Nepean Mining. As Australia’s largest privately owned engineering, mining services and industry manufacturing organization, Nepean has assembled an army of applications for the mining sector. The company’s mining division, 73
February 2015
Nepean Mining, has earned a solid reputation for its capability to supply fully integrated turnkey mining systems. Through its four specialist businesses, Nepean Mining is delivering high value, innovative and sustainable solutions to the world’s leading mining companies. Product Offering Nepean Mining offers an exquisite line of innovative and sustainable solutions for underground and surface mining equipment. The company has been recognized as
MINING
KMG - NEPEAN supplied Barge Loading Facility
one of Australia’s most successful suppliers of large-scale, fully integrated, mining conveyor projects. Since 1985, the company has supported Australian-and South African-based mines through its four core businesses: Conveyors, Longwall, Power and Gas. Along with being one of Australia’s largest suppliers of integrated electromechanical bulk material handling solutions, Nepean provides custom-engineered solutions for some of the largest miners in the world including Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and BHP Billiton.
One of the main contributors to Nepean’s success is innovation. The company has accumulated a workforce comprised of knowledgeable and experienced engineers with proficiency in designing, manufacturing, installing and commissioning machinery. With complete inhouse capabilities, there’s not much Nepean can’t do. “The reason we’re excelling is because we have a strong engineering department which allows us the ability to do all the designs and modeling ourselves,” w w w. n e p e a n . c o m / m i n i n g
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SUPPLIER PROFILE
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies. The ABB Group of companies operates in roughly 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people. In Australia, we have been active within the mining industry for more than 100 years. We offer one of the most comprehensive packages of products and services for the complete primary production chain within the mining and minerals industry. Spanning drives, motors, Dodge® mechanical power transmission products, safety PLCs and low voltage products, the breadth of our offering is unsurpassed. Our extensive Australia-wide network of service centers, ensures that our customers can fully maximise the value of their investments across the entire lifecycle of their mining facility. Industry: LV & MV squirrel cage motors / LV - frequency converters drive up to 2800 kW / MV - frequency converters 315 kW up to 100MW / Converter transformers/ DC drives (new & revamping)/ LV & MV squirrel cage motors / Slipring motors (wound rotor induction motors) / Secondary rotor starters, Soft starters / Power factor correction and harmonic filters / Beltless direct drives / Gear reducers shaft mount reducers / Spherical roller bearings / Mounted bearings / ISN bearings / Couplings and mechanical soft starts / Conveyor and elevator pulleys / Low voltage products / Safety PLCs (Temperatures (-40… +70 °C) Services: Remote service / Remote monitoring / Resident engineers / On-site containerised workshops / Fully customized support programs / Certified skilled resources in all systems and products / Industrial process experts available to align equipment and application / Lifecycle support from installation to disposal / Condition assessment and upgrade Website: www.abbaustralia.com.au
NEPEAN MINING
MINING
says Rolf van Rooyen, managing director of Nepean Mining.
underground coalmines. The facility also serves to showcase Nepean’s dedication World Class Facilities to safety. The company recently In addition to a vast product range, achieved a milestone by reaching Nepean is accessible almost 1,000,000 man hours without anywhere in the world. With a total a Lost Time Injury (LTI) in its of 10 facilities worldwide, including Conveyors business and 700,000 Australia, South Africa, and China, in its Power business. Nepean Mining has captured “I believe the key to our success roughly 35-40 percent of the mining is everyone in our organization equipment market in its core market understanding that they have a role of eastern Australia by incorporating to play in sustaining a zero harm facilities close to its clients. environment. These milestones In early 2013, Nepean completed are a significant achievement a significant expansion of one of its and this is something that many conveyor facilities in Wollongong, companies aim for, but few Australia. The new factory, which achieve,” says Van Rooyen. includes manufacturing operations Van Rooyen admits in the past such as fabrication, machining, the company had an old-school assembly and quality assurance approach to safety but since has testing, continues to serve the adapted to stricter rules. company’s rapid expansion in NSW “You can see the difference in our
“We can sell solutions right on the spot because our team knows what our customer’s needs are.” - Rolf van Rooyen, Managing Director, Nepean Mining
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NEPEAN MINING safety record over the last five to seven years. If you manage safety correctly, it will change the culture of your company and be a positive flow on effect on your employees and customers.” The increase in safety has been advantageous in more ways than one, strengthening the moral and company culture in the process. “It’s amazing the impact implementing stricter and more efficient safety initiatives has had
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on moral and motivation among our employees,” says Van Rooyen. “We’ve seen an improvement in productivity and the quality of products.” Supplier of value Overall, Nepean is more than just a manufacturer of mining equipment; they’re solution providers. The company has integrated a unique approach to adding value for customers.
MINING
“Our engineers are a big part of the sales process,” says Van Rooyen. “They go to the customer’s site, listen to their questions and solve their problems. They’re an extended part of the customer’s operation.” According to Van Rooyen, because engineers work closely with the sales team, their expertise and experience designing and manufacturing the equipment enables customers to better understand how it works. “We can sell solutions right on the spot because our team knows what our customer’s needs are. In addition, the fact we have an in-house electrical solution provider adds significant value for our customers. We provide a consolidated system solution and essentially derisk the job for them right on the spot. It’s a huge advantage for us.” To continue being a trusted partner with high value solutions, Nepean is looking to open offices in strategic locations to make buying and selling equipment more flexible for customers. “We’ve been importing from China for six years and we’ve learned our lessons,” says Van Rooyen. “We now have the processes in place and the feedback from customers to really set ourselves apart from our competitors.”
Company Information INDUSTRY
Mining HEADQUARTERS
Smeaton Grange NSW, Australia FOUNDED
1985 EMPLOYEES
1000 REVENUE
N/A PRODUCTS/ SERVICES
Nepean is Australia’s leading privately owned engineering, mining services and industrial manufacturing organization. The company has unique capabilities to deliver high value, innovative and sustainable solutions for the world’s leading mining, construction and transport companies.
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NEPEAN MINING 73-77 Topham Road Smeaton Grange New South Wales Australia 2567 Tel.+61 2 46472715 Fax. +61 2 4647 2714 conveyors@nepean.com longwall@nepean.com power@nepean.com www.nepean.com/mining